Friday, October 2, 2015

Clear and Refreshing

Google today announced IT admins can now apply policies to Chrome on Android and iOS, in addition to Windows, Mac, Linux, and Chrome OS. This means they can, for example, use the Google admin console to set bookmarks through the Managed Bookmarks setting, set the Proxy policy or the Password Manager policy, across all six platforms at once. It’s important to note that Google warns this is an “experimental feature.”

In other words, enabling the new Mobile setting (Chrome Management needs to be turned on first) means that all supported policies (check the lightbulb beside each policy to see if it will on Android and iOS) will apply to Chrome on mobile devices. All users who are signed in to Chrome for mobile with their organization’s account will receive whatever user settings the administrator has set.

It’s important to note that Google warns this is an “experimental feature.” As a result, admins are told to inform their users before flipping the switch, as well as to report any issues via In other words, enabling the new Mobile setting (Chrome Management needs to be turned on first) means that all supported policies (check the lightbulb beside each policy to see if it will on Android and iOS) will apply to Chrome on mobile devices.

All users who are signed in to Chrome for mobile with their organization’s account will receive whatever user settings the administrator has set.

PayPal today announced partnerships with three leading Bitcoin payment processors: BitPay, Coinbase and GoCoin. The eBay-owned company wants to help digital goods merchants accept Bitcoin payments, although it is starting with those located in the US and Canada first (“We are considering expanding to other markets,” a PayPal spokesperson told TNW. “Stay tuned.”)

PayPal says it chose to integrate the third-party functionality directly in the PayPal Payments Hub because the aformentioned trio already offers its customers protections when dealing with the virtual currency. The company envisions anything that can be obtained digitally, such as video games and music, being sold in Bitcoin.

This is important to emphasize, because PayPal isn’t adding Bitcoin as a currency to its own digital wallet. It also won’t be processing Bitcoing payments on its secure payments platform: everything is being handled by one of the three third-parties.

Merchants who pre-sell products, meaning asking for money up-front for a product or service that will be delivered in the future, will also not be supported. This is, according to PayPal, to safeguard customers from businesses that can’t give refunds if they fold before the product is shipped and after buyer protection expires.

In other words, the company is starting to accept Bitcoin, but very slowly and very cautiously. PayPal Senior Director of Corporate Strategy Scott Ellison explains.